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Candelori's Ristorante & Bar - Launch Party | Smithfield

We have just been to Italy and back. Hah – we wish! We attended the Candelori’s Restaurant & Bar launch party! The family owned and operated restaurant has gained a reputation for excellent Italian food and wine! Guess what? Candelori’s opened up in Smithfield (for all us foodies from the western suburbs!). The place is beautiful, warm and inviting with the wall high windows and marble interior. Felt slightly royal for a second with the red carpet. Thank you Wasamedia for the invitation!!

The venue was at full capacity which meant shared seating. We normally try to avoid shared seating but in this case we are glad we were forced out of our comfort join because it made the night even more enjoyable (amazing foodies!).

WOW! Even the chef has an amazing view.

NIBBLIES

The olives and olive oil courtesy of Finnis Estate were more than your average supermarket variety, for once I actually enjoyed eating olives! Finnis Estate imports their olive trees all the way from Italy and grows them SA and WA (the climate which makes it ideal location).

We've never seen cheese freshly made before our eyes! WOW! And it sure tasted fresh. Do not mistake the below as poached egg. IT'S AH-MAY-ZING FRESHLY MADE CHEESE.

12 COURSE DEGUSTATION

(Let the food coma begin - we were busy at the photo booth and missed the last pizza!)

Buffalo mozzarella caprese – served with truss tomato and finished with extra virgin olive oil. Again, the cheese was obviously the spotlight!

Oven baked figs – San Danielle prosciutto, lightly baked and finished with gorgonzola sauce. The fig is an acquired taste (I prefer figs with dessert). The baked proscuitto and the gorgonzola sauce really topped the dish! We even had people around us dipping their ciabatta bread into the cheese sauce! (IT WAS THAT GOOD!)

Zucchini flowers – filled with ricotta cheese and spinach then lightly fried. Perfect with a squeeze of lemon juice! Matt was reluctant at first to try it (given it's a flower) but was glad he did as it turned out to be the highlight of the night for him!

Gnocci with duck ragu – home made potato dumplings with slow pot braised duck ragu. A bit more of the duck ragu would make this dish a 10/10! The dish had great flavour and the gnocci was nice and fluffy!

Mascarpone crepe with warm Belgian dark chocolate and crushed hazelnut. At this point, my second stomach had failed me. But Matt demolished the dish in seconds!